I recently had to purchase a reloadable gift card/prepaid debit card so that I could have an account and routing number for direct deposits as that was the only payment method I could use for a job. I settled on the Green Dot card since the monthly fee was $6 and would be waived if I made 30 purchases in the month or had $1,000 deposited into it. I'm not sure if I met either of those thresholds this month, though. Still, I liked the idea and figured that I made 30 purchases easily and I'll probably meet the $1,000 a month soon once we get my husband's paychecks deposited. I've heard that the Walmart gift cards only have a $3 fee but I never go to Walmart anymore since it's over 30 minutes away and quite out of my way. Do any of you use these cards for an online bank? Which one do you have or have had and how do/did you like it?
I don't use a reloadable gift card, as I have a bank account, but my husband does not. He uses a netspend card, which is similar, but I hate it because I feel like there's a nickle-and-dime fee for everything. Is greendot like that as well? If not, it may be a better alternative for him.
I use to use a Walmart card. I mostly used it to make online purchases. I don't like the idea of using my debit card online. I finally got a paypal debit card which I feel it's safer. American Express has introduced a reloadable card with no nickel and dime fees. I picked up one at Target for only $3. I purchased it for my niece. She's only 9 years old, but she loves using it when we go to Starbucks.
No, that's one reason why I chose the Green Dot card. I was looking into others and they charged a fee for every type of transaction be it ATM withdrawals, cash back, using it as credit and debit, online bill pay, everything! Green Dot, I think, only charges a fee when you use at some ATMs. Others don't charge a fee, though. Don't remember which ones. Green Dot is actually affiliated with PayPal and you can buy a Green Dot MoneyPak card at a store and load it with cash then transfer the cash to your PayPal account. Pretty nifty and far faster than a bank transfer if you need the funds there. I have a PayPal account, but I work on Amazon Mturk sometimes and the Amazon Payments system will only do a direct deposit to a bank with an account and routing number. $3 to purchase the American Express card is pretty cheap! I think the Green Dot cost $4 or $5.
How do you get a reloadable green dot card? The ones they sell at Rite Aid near me are not reloadable.
Really?!? I have Netspend and I don't have any kind of problems like that. I was given a routing and acct number at Inter bank so I use it for a small portion of my direct deposit. I call it my go money, and just save the other part of the paycheck. I can't really even relate to the opening post, because I never have to pay any monthly fees at all. Heck I've only noticed a 1 or 2 dollar charge when I order things online. Also thats another cool thing about netspend. You can take a lot at your online transactions, balance, and everything on their websiteLog In. The only thing I don't like is that you get an acct and routing number with netspend, but you still can't use if for bank wires. :/
I have Netspend also and I did notice the fees that they charge you. It's not enough to complain, but they are present. I think if you pay $5 a month there are no more transaction fees. I think it's a better way than dealing with the bank how they charge you overdraft fees. With the Netspend card there are no overdraft fees to worry about, it's just pay as you go.
